Surprise Delivery
by ninja-hamsters
Summary: Sam/Cam - Cam gets a delivery at the base. !chapter 8 added 22/8/08!
1. Chapter 1

Title:Surprise Delivery  
Characters:Team  
Pairing:Sam/Cam  
Warning:None  
Spoilers:None  
Rating: K

**Surprise Delivery**

"Colonel Mitchell to General Landry's office, immediately," Walter's voice boomed out the tannoy speakers, echoing along the corridor Cam was currently walking down. He'd just got to Sam's lab, his intended destination, and as Cam stopped in the doorway Sam looked up from her work and smirked at him when he rolled his eyes.

"Have fun!" Sam said as she turned back to the device on her workbench.

"I'll be right back," he said as he turned on his heels and jogged off to the elevators.

……………

Cam arrived at Landry's office in record time and leant heavily against the doorframe to get his breath back.

"You wanted to see me, sir?" he wheezed as he rolled off the frame and into the room.

"Colonel Mitchell, yes. I wanted to tell you that this morning you received a delivery."

"Delivery? As in parcel?" Cam quickly tried to remember what he had ordered and why he hadn't had it delivered to his apartment, but nothing came to mind.

"Not so much parcel, Colonel, as – bundle," He chuckled quietly to himself. Both at the joke he'd made, and Cam look of confusion.

Landry pressed a button on his telecom and leaned forward to the microphone. "Walter?"

Pause. "Yes, Sir?" came the tinny reply.

"Bring up Colonel Mitchell's delivery."

"On my way, Sir." The link crackled out and Landry leaned back in his chair.

"Sir, I haven't-" Cam started, trying to find an excuse to explain the situation, but then realised he didn't even know what the situation was, so resorted to opening and closing his mouth, knowing that somehow that wasn't going to help much.

"Calm down, Mitchell. While my duties as commander of this facility does not include hand-delivering parcels and post to my personnel, this particular instance was, I felt, a little – odd – to be put through the general postal system of the base."

"Sir, I have no idea wh-" Cam stopped as Walter walked into the office. In his arms was the sleeping form of a baby, not much more than a month old, dressed in a simple white flannel baby-suit.

Cam gaped open-mouthed and the site of the baby, then turned back to see Landry smiling adoringly at her, a far-away look briefly visible in his eyes.

"Sir, I- I don't-" Cam stammered.

Landry refocused his attention on Cam, "Colonel Mitchell, this baby was found this morning at approximately 0330 hours in a baby carrier at the front gates to the complex. She was found in perfect health, sleeping peacefully, wrapped up warm-"

"That's fine, Sir," Cam interrupted, "I'm sorry, but what does this have to do with me?"

Landry didn't answer at first, but got up to take the baby then nodded to Walter, who turned and left the office. "When the airmen found her, there was a note tucked into her blankets," He shifted his gaze from the baby in his arms to Cam, "addressed to you, Mitchell."

Cam couldn't stop his head jerking back in shock and his eyes widened. "Addressed to me…" He tried desperately to recall recent relationships. There were depressingly few, and none would have been the right time to explain the baby. "Can I- can I see the note?"

Landry nodded over to his desk where a short hand-written letter was lying, slightly crumpled, in the middle. How Cam hadn't noticed it before he didn't know. He picked up the note with a shaking hand and read it. His name was clearly written at the top.

_Lt. Col. Cameron Mitchell,_

_Situations have arisen and I am unable to continue to care for my daughter. Her name is Eleanor Hope. While she is loved by both myself and her father, we have decided this to be the best course of action. We hope situations with you are not as dire as ours. Take care of her, she is yours._

Cam stood there staring at the note, re-reading it over and over. His eyes lingered on the name printed at the bottom of the page. Clearly written, unmistakable.

_Lt. Col. Samantha Carter of the SGC_

In the back of his mind, Cam had recognised the handwriting. While scruffy and evidently rushed, it was without a doubt, Sam's.

"Oh God," was all Cam could get out.

"So you believe Colonel Carter wrote it?" Landry said softly from somewhere behind him.

"There seems to be no other explanation. Bar a woman with enough security clearance, the ability to reproduce Sam's handwriting, and unable to look after her child, but I don't know of any. But I still don't even understand this explanation." Cam turned to look at Landry.

"Early indications suggest that Colonel Carter from an alternate reality somehow crossed over into-"

"Ok, ok. I think I get the idea." Cam's eyes fell to the baby in the General's arms. Then a flash of confusion crossed his face and he turned back to the note, " 'Take care of her, she is yours'?" He glanced back to the General, "That means-" A lump caught in his throat and he swallowed, "So Carter and Mitchell hooked up in a alternate dimension, huh?" he let out a short laugh, but he didn't feel amused, or relieved. He'd fought his feelings for Sam for as long as he'd known her, successfully. But this? This messed everything up again. He sighed and couldn't stop a tear from rolling unchecked down his cheek.

"It might be best if you told Colonel Carter about the situation yourself, ease her into the idea."

"Yeh, I can do that," Cam sniffed and wiped the wet track the tear had left on his cheek. He stuffed the letter into a pocket in his BDUs and walked nervously closer to Landry, arms outstretched to hold the baby.

"There we go," he said as he lifted the little girl from the General's arms and rested her against his chest. A lumped formed in Cam's throat as her head nestled in the crook of his neck. It felt so perfect.

"Good luck, Cam," Landry patted the younger man's shoulder and walked back round to his desk and sat down. "The carrier is in the control room, if you want it. There are a few airmen out getting the necessary supplies as we speak."

"Thank you, General," Cam replied, slightly dazed. He was still staring down at the tiny, soft, warm body resting on his arms and chest, soft fair hair tickling his skin. He walked slowly out of the office and made his way back to Sam's lab.


	2. Chapter 2

**Surprise Delivery – Chapter 2**

Walking through the corridors of Stargate Command with a baby in your arms is a sure way to get odd looks - especially if you're leader of SG-1. Between the nervous smiles he returned to the confused looks, and stopping to let people make cooing noises at the little girl, Cam made his way back to Sam's lab.

Turning the corner to the last stretch of corridor, Cam could see the open door to the lab. He stopped; suddenly realising he had no idea what he was going to tell Sam.

The pause in motion seemed to affect the baby as she stirred in Cam's arms. His heart skipped a beat when her head wobbled and her wide watery blue eyes met his. She was beautiful, she really was. Cam shifted her in his arms to hold her so she was lying on his forearms in front of him and looked down at her. God she looked so much like Sam. He smiled at that thought and was noticeably surprised when the baby returned a gummy smile back up at him. She must be older than he originally thought. Maybe three months? But then, what did he know about babies? Oh God, what had he gotten himself into?

Cam reached the lab door and paused again to take a deep breath before boldly stepping into the room with a big smile. But the room was empty.

"Now where could she be? Hmm?" He talked softly down at the girl in his arms, "Shall we wait here until she gets back?" Cam walked towards the chair Sam had been sitting in when he'd been here not half an hour ago and sat down. He sat the baby, Eleanor, on his thigh; holding her up with one broad hand on her back and neck. She seemed happy with where she was and who she was with. It hit Cam that it must be true. This child had been here with him before, but not _here_ and not with _him_.

"Cam! You're back!" Cam was jerked from his thoughts as Sam came striding into the room. The smile on her face turned to confusion when she saw the baby smile and gurgle at her, "Cam…?"

"Sam, there's a…situation," He cringed at the word. It sounded too formal. "Listen, Sam. When Landry called me to his office, he – well, he gave me this baby,"

"I don't under-"

"And this note," Cam interrupted as he fished the crumpled paper from his pocket and held it out for her.

She automatically took it from his hand, her eyes locked onto his, trying to gain any information from them, but failing.

Cam watched as she read the letter, her expression unreadable. He looked away from her and down to Eleanor, who had moved to lean against his stomach. He rearranged his arms to hold her secure.

When he looked back up at Sam, his heart wrenched. She was staring at the baby curled up on his belly, tears rolling slowly down her face.

"Sam, I-" He didn't know what to say. He stood up, lying Eleanor on the chair and wrapped his arms around Sam. She almost collapsed against him, sobbing freely.

They stood there for an age. Just holding each other. Sure, they'd hugged before, but this seemed different. This was a little more than friendship. Just a little. Just enough. This was _understanding_.

A gurgle roused them from the embrace and they broke apart. They both wiped tears away from their eyes and faces, which surprised Cam because he hadn't realised he'd been crying.

"Sam, this doesn't mean-"

"I don't know what this means," She interrupted in a tone that made Cameron stare at her. She wasn't crying anymore, she seemed frustrated and angry and he couldn't understand the sudden change, "I mean, who looks after her? Why would I – the other Samantha Carter – address the letter to you, not me? And what happens when we're on missions? Off-world? In another galaxy? We can't take her with us. And what if something happens to us?" Sam leant against a desk and rubbed her temples with thumb and finger.

"Jeez, Sam, you've only had a few minutes and you've already found all the problems." Cam rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, glancing quickly down at Eleanor, asleep again.

"The SGC isn't designed to accommodate children,"

"She'll stay in one of our quarters,"

"And when we're off-base?"

Cam glanced sideways, "She'll stay in one of our houses?"

"And who'll look after her when we're on missions?"

"We'll find someone. Grab an airman or two-"

"And when she's older? What then? Oh God!" She threw her arms up in the air, "See THIS is why the frat. regs. are in place!"

"Actually, it's to eliminate favouritism in the chain of command-"

"CAMERON!"

"Sam, I think this is a little beyond frat. regs. don't you?" He should have known smart-assing wouldn't help his case, "I mean, we haven't exactly done anything," Cam bent down and scooped Eleanor into his arms again. "You know, she looks so much like you-"

"Not _me_! The _other_ Sam Carter. From some other reality. This child is nothing to do with me!" Sam turned and stormed out of the lab, almost knocking the small army of airmen laden with carrier bags and boxes. Cam hadn't expected this reaction and it had thrown him completely. He'd counted on her wanting to help look after the baby. Hell, _raise_ the baby. He didn't know if he could do this on his own.

"Sir, these are the supplies General Landry ordered," said the young airman at the front of the group, "where do you want them, sir?"

Cam had been staring at the door after Sam and holding Eleanor tightly to his chest. He refocused on the airman's face, red from exertion, "Umm, my quarters for now. Follow me."

--

_Note: This isn't a Sam-bashing! She's just in shock. Watch this space. Next instalment soon, I promise!_


	3. Chapter 3

**Surprise Delivery - Chapter 3**

There was a quick knock on the door and Cam stumbled through bags and boxes, containing stuff he still had to assemble and devices that looked like they wouldn't be out of place in one of Sam's labs. He tripped over a box of baby-milk that had escaped one of the over-packed bags and fell hard against the door. He recovered himself and opened the door and quickly shut it behind his visitor.

"Sam!" Cam breathed; he was relieved to see her standing there, even if she was looking him up and down, a small smirk on her lips. He was only in his boxers after all, his hair all stuck up from frustrated rubbing. He'd called her in her quarters only a few minutes ago and asked her to come over. Urgently. "Thank_ God_ you're here!" She followed him further into the cluttered room.

She didn't have to ask what he wanted. She'd heard it in the background of their brief phone conversation, and she'd heard it on her way to Cam's quarters. Eleanor was screaming. Loudly.

"She hasn't stopped _crying_ in _two hours_!" Cam said through gritted teeth, "I'm just glad these rooms have some sound-proofing or I'd have had some serious complaints."

Sam had walked past Cameron over to the red-faced little girl lying on the bed. Hesitantly, she reached down to pick her up. There was a short break in the screams as Eleanor seemed to recognise Sam, but then she continued her crying, waving her arms and legs around.

"When did you last feed her?" Sam almost had to shout over to Cam.

"Um, haven't got around to that yet," Cam replied sheepishly. Sam glared at him and rolled her eyes, "Look, I've never done this before! It took me long enough to change her diaper!"

Sam glanced down at Eleanor's diaper, a valiant effort, but precariously fastened on. She almost laughed, "Cam you really have no idea what you're doing, do you?"

He started to argue, but resigned and bowed his head, "No," he admitted, "I thought it would be pretty self-explanatory-"

This time Sam did laugh, "Babies can't tell you what's wrong, Cam. They don't come with instruction manuals, you don't get training and they don't have dials and gauges!"

"I-"

"Just make some formula. That's the boxes over there," she pointed at the mountain propped up by the wall, "And that's the bottle-warmer. You'll need to plug that in."

Cam busied himself with his orders while Sam stood and gently rocked Eleanor in her arms, making soft noises. If he hadn't been too busy studying the packet of formula milk, Cam would have been pleasantly surprised at the sight.

…….

A little over an hour later, Sam and Cameron were sitting slumped against each other on the edge of the bed, exhausted. Eleanor lay behind them in the middle of the bed, surrounded by pillows.

"So how do you know so much about babies?" Cam asked, barely stifling a yawn.

Sam looked down at him, his head on her shoulder, her head resting on his. "I used to look after my neighbour's kids when I was younger," she said simply. Then she grinned slyly, "and mother's instinct."

Cam sat up straight and stared at her, and laughed when he saw her grin, "You!" He poked her in the side, making her giggle. With a cheeky grin, he started tickling her and she squirmed, trying to get away from his fingers. Sam went to poke him back and he jumped, falling off the bed and pulling her down with him.

Suddenly the giggling stopped - their faces mere centimetres apart. In Sam's eyes, Cameron could see his own thoughts and emotions circling and clashing, battling to try and find a compromise. He saw her face coming closer to his, her eyes darting to his lips then back to his eyes, but just as he began to move up to meet her, she jerked back and stood up. Cameron lay there, mind fuzzy, and licked his lips. He'd been so close.

"Sorry, Cameron. I can't do this. I just can't risk losing my job,"

"It's okay," Cam groaned as he struggled to his feet. He must have hit the floor harder than he'd thought, "we can't let this affect our friendship." He wasn't sure if he was talking about the sleeping baby on his bed, or what had just nearly happened. "What makes it an alternate dimension is the 'alternate' part."

"Reality," Sam corrected him, "alternate reality,"

"There's a difference? No-" he added quickly as he saw Sam about to launch into full flow, "I'll trust you on that one,"

Sam smiled, "will you be okay now, or do you want me to stay in case she wakes up?"

Cameron looked at his watch and sighed, "It's 4am. We have a briefing at 0900. Is there any point leaving?"

"Good point," Sam yawned and stretched her arms; "We'll take her to the infirmary tomorrow like General Landry said. Get the tests done,"

Cam lay on the bed on one side of the sleeping baby, and Sam took the other side. Even with the baby between them they were still very close together, there being only single beds in the personnel quarters.

Cam felt a little too close to the edge of the bed. "I think I'll put the cot together tomorrow," he said with a laugh. Sam smiled back.

"This is all going to be okay, isn't it?" Cam asked, his hand absently stroking through Eleanor's soft hair.

A frown crossed Sam's face for a split second, studying Cam's far-away expression. "I hope so, Cam, I really do. For Eleanor's sake,"

Cam, vaguely aware that that was the first time Sam had called the baby by her name, closed his heavy eyelids as exhaustion took over. They fell asleep facing each other, curled around the child that had so suddenly entered their lives.

……….

_Note: chapter 4 in the pipelines. Could use some suggestions on where you want this to go!_


	4. Chapter 4

_Note: Sorry for the massive delay, folks. I've been doing big exams, and had little time to write. Thanks for all the input! Keep it coming._

**Surprise Delivery – Chapter 4**

Cameron peeped round the door of Daniel's office then walked in, hands in pockets, acting casual.

"Hey, Jackson," he said, walking to stand in front of the desk he was working at.

Daniel looked up from his laptop, "Mitchell. What's up?"

Cam shrugged, "Nothing, just doing the rounds, you know. Watcha doin'?"

He sighed a little, waving his hands to indicate the piles of papers and photographs scattered on his desk top, "Just working on translating a tablet SG-5 found on P4X-823," he smiled up at Cameron, "You?"

"Not much. The day's been the same old same old. Oh, and I have a baby,"

Daniel's eyebrows shot up, then he blinked a few times, "Excuse me?"

"I got a baby. Yesterday, in fact," Cameron was now wondering around the room, touching various artefacts on the shelves.

"Explain, please," Daniel had his confused pout, "what do you mean you have a baby? Surely not a real baby?"

Cam turned to look at him, "Yes, Jackson, a real baby,"

There was a pause then Daniel spoke as if the question could set off a bomb, "Who's the mother?"

Cam smiled slightly and looked Daniel right in the face. This should be a reaction worth seeing. "Sam," he said simply, crossing his arms across his chest.

He was right. The reaction was priceless. The confusion on Daniel's face changed to shock, then an odd look directed at Cameron as the thought that they were together crossed his mind, then this was replaced by confusion again as he knew Sam hadn't been pregnant. During this expression transition, his mouth had been opening and closing in an attempt to voice questions.

Cam laughed and walked over and leaned on the desk, "Don't worry, Jackson. It's not like that," Daniel frowned, "It's a simple matter of alternate realities,"

Daniel smiled sarcastically, "Oh well, in that case,"

"I'm on my way to the infirmary to check in on the tests they're doing. Coming?" Cameron took a few steps backwards towards the door, jerking his thumb in indication.

Daniel stood up and followed the other man. He'd obviously wanted him to go.

--

Sam almost jumped when she felt Cameron's hands on her shoulders. She was in the infirmary observation room, watching the doctors do various tests on Eleanor and hadn't heard him come up behind her.

"So what's the news? Can we keep her?" Cam asked light-heartedly. Sam turned and looked up at him, raising her eyebrows. Whether consciously or not, the turn forced Cam to let go of her.

"She's not a stray dog, Cam," Sam replied, then her eyes moved to Daniel as she saw him leaning on the doorframe. His expression asked for an explanation.

"Where do I start?" She asked, eyes moving between her two friends.

"Well, all I got so far is 'baby' and 'alternate reality', so anything more than that would be good," Daniel replied, stepping further into the room. The three of them stood looking down at the room below.

"To be honest, that's all we've got so far. Doctor Lam is doing a DNA test now, along with a general check-up, make sure she's healthy."

"There was a note," Cam started, prompting Sam to explain.

Sam outlined what the note had said and turned to look at Daniel. There was a short moment of silence.

Daniel nodded then looked Sam in the eyes, "Could it be an alternate universe we've already encountered?"

Sam puffed her cheeks out briefly, "See now that's what I thought about. I've thought of a few scenarios. One is that yes, we know of that reality, that's why they chose ours, they knew it was safe. But then the note didn't suggest they knew us personally. Another is that they tried coming to a few realities, and ours was the first one not occupied or under attack, et cetera, explaining why they chose our reality, and why the note seemed anonymous. The third is that they had no idea where they were going, and it was a last attempt for a better life for Eleanor."

"Eleanor?" Daniel interrupted

"That's what the note said her name was," Sam explained, and then continued, "Luckily, we are able to look after her and keep her safe, so if the last scenario is the case, it's a good job we got her. There are an infinite number of alternate realities, any of them could be in a lot more dire circumstances."

Cam, who'd been leaning on the rail under the window, cut in to finish the story, "And now our good doctor's are checking to see if we really are AlternaBaby's mommy and daddy,"

Sam was about to reply to try to not let that name stick when the door opened and Doctor Lam came through. All three spun round and stepped towards her, eager for the results of the tests.

Carolyn smiled and put her hands in the pockets of her lab coat, "Well, she's a healthy little 3-month-old, as far as I can tell. All tests came back with good results."

There was a pause and they realised she wasn't going to continue. Cam blinked and said, "And the DNA test? What about that? Is she ours – uh, I mean the other Carter and Mitchell's?"

Carolyn frowned a little and cocked her head to one side, stepping backwards slightly towards the door she'd just come through, "I think you need to see something,"

_Note: Stay tuned for chapter 5!_


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

A few minutes later and Sam, Cameron and Daniel were looking at a monitor where three lines of black and white stripes spread lengthways across the screen.

Carolyn looked at the blank faces, "These are the DNA patterns of the three subjects," she explained, "The two on the left are Sam's and Cameron's, respectively, and the one on the right is Eleanor's,"

They nodded slightly in response to this explanation but the blank looks persisted.

"So. Is this a good thing?" Cam asked, putting into words what was going through all three of their minds. They all shifted their eyes to Carolyn in expectation.

She quirked a faint smile and her gaze switched between their faces. "Yes and no. Depending on what you were expecting," She sighed and pressed a button on a remote control. The two stripes on the left disappeared, leaving Eleanor's. They waited in silence as another button was pressed, and two more patterns appeared in their place.

After a pause, Carolyn explained. "These two show the DNA patterns Eleanor's parents must have had. Now you may notice they look extremely similar to those belonging to you-"

"So we are the parents?" Cam interrupted, surprised at how eager he was and pretending he didn't notice that the others had noticed.

"But if I put them alongside your own patterns," Carolyn continued and pressed another button. Eleanor's pattern faded and the two original patterns appeared next to their respective new ones. They looked identical. Sam and Cameron exchanged looks.

Daniel leaned closer to the screen and pointed at a small segment of the patterns, "What's that?"

In response, a highlighting line stretched down the screen, cutting through all four patterns. Sam and Cameron returned their attention to the screen.

"There are anomalies on the parent DNA patterns compared to those belonging to you." Carolyn answered with a small sigh. There was silence. She put the remote down and crossed her arms loosely over her stomach.

"What kind of anomaly? What is it?" Sam asked.

"We don't know," Carolyn sighed again. "We haven't seen anything like this before, and preliminary searches of our database comes up with nothing similar."

"Is she going to be ok?"

"Will she be alright?"

Sam and Cam spoke simultaneously.

"It pains me to say it but I have no idea what the effect of this anomaly has on Eleanor's physiology. But it looks like both parents had the altered gene, passing it on to the offspring. I've sent the results to the research labs and they'll get a team to try to work it out. For the time being, though, she's happy and appears healthy and I'm happy to discharge her. But there is one thing,"

"What is it?" Cam asked

"We need to enter her into the base records,"

"Fine. What's the problem with that?"

Carolyn shifted a little uncomfortably, trying to work out how to word the question, "As you know, the note didn't say what Eleanor's last name is," she trailed off, knowing her point got across.

The pause was much shorter than she'd expected, "Mitchell." Sam said, evenly and calmly. She was acutely aware of the eyes of Daniel and Cam on her, surprised at her answer.

Carolyn nodded and tapped the keyboard to enter in the name. With attention off them for a while, Sam turned to face Cameron and smiled up at him.

"Are you sure? Her parents might not have- you know," Cam said

"Think about it, Cam. The note was addressed to you. And would we really have had a child without being married?" her bright blue eyes shone up into his, glistening with half-formed tears. Cameron lost himself in them, seeing the compassion, and realising that no, they wouldn't have had a child together without being married. The gaze had already gone past the comfortable length to be able to look away without feeling awkward. Instead, Cam wrapped his arms around her and was relieved when she squeezed back.

A shrill scream followed by crashing broke the moment and they let go, almost throwing each other off. Without a thought, they all ran out and towards the noises.

They got to the infirmary ward and were slightly stunned at the sight. Eleanor was red-faced and screaming her lungs out on a bed. A nurse with a needle was looking shocked next to her, waving her arms desperately trying to calm the baby down. She looked up when she heard them enter, panic in her eyes. Then confusion when she saw the medical equipment trolleys tipped over, scattering their contents all over the floor.

"What happened here?" Carolyn asked in wonderment.

The nurse looked around her, "I was just about to give her an injection and she started screaming,"

"And this?" she asked, indicating the mess on the floor.

"I don't know. One minute, everything's fine, then she's crying, then you came in, then I noticed everything had fallen over,"

"You didn't see how it happened?" Cam asked, stepping around the debris over to Eleanor and picking her up, "Shh shh, Ellie, it's Ok. Hey? It's Ok," The screams died away as Cameron held her to his chest, rocking her gently.

The nurse was shaking her head, still a little confused about the situation, then started picking up the equipment from the floor.

Cameron caught Sam and Daniel's eyes and smiled as they gaped at how he'd calmed Eleanor down so quickly, "I'm a fast learner," he said with a grin, then bowed his head down to Eleanor, "Let's get out of here shall we?" he said in a stage whisper, "I've never liked it in these places," He looked back at his friends and gestured towards the door.

--

"Unscheduled off world activation!" Walter's voice accompanied the little flashing red light on the wall. Cameron and Sam were currently in an elevator on their way to lunch, Daniel having left them to get back to his translating. A junior airman shared the elevator with them, and was looking very uncomfortable under the prolonged stare from Eleanor.

"SG-1 to the control room," Cam sagged his shoulders and sighed dramatically. He leant across the airman to press the floor button for the control room. He caught his eye and smiled and shrugged, earning a small nervous smile before he looked away quickly.

They strode out of the doors when they arrived on their floor and headed for the control room. When they got there, Daniel and Teal'c were already there, looking out the window to the gate room with General Landry. The room was bathed in the rippling blue light from the gate, casting wobbling shadows on the walls.

"Sir, what is it?" Cameron asked as they joined them, resting Eleanor's carrier on the ledge so she could see. She gurgled at the sight.

"Radio transmission detected, General," Walter said, pressing buttons.

"Patch it through,"

There was a crackle then the sound of weapons fire and a panicked voice came through the tinny speakers, "General Landry! This is SG-6! Taking heavy fire. Request back-up -ahhh…" The firing continued, followed by shouting, broken by static.

"Connection lost, Sir," the wormhole collapsed, plunging them into darkness after the blue glare.

"Kit up," he said to SG-1, "Walter, call for SG's –3 and –9. You move out in 15." He said and walked out of the room.

Daniel, Teal'c and Sam started out automatically on the order.

"What about the baby?" Cam asked, to no one in particular. The others stopped and looked at him, expressions reflecting that they had forgotten about that snag.

Sam recovered quickly, stepping back into the room. Teal'c and Daniel continued to leave.

"Sergeant," she called to the man standing by the door.

He stepped forward, "Yes, ma'am,"

"Look after this baby until we get back,"

"Ma'am," he said, reaching to take the carrier from Cameron.

"Sam!" Cam asked, eyes wide, "We can't just leave her with a stranger!"

"It was your idea, remember? We have a mission to do," with that she turned and followed the others out. Cameron had little choice but to let the sergeant take Eleanor off him before catching up to the others.


	6. Chapter 6

**Surprise Delivery - Chapter 3**

_Note: Sorry for the delay on this chapter. No excuse other than writer's block, cured by a tourist guide book of all things. Chapter 7 coming soon to a screen near you._

When SG-6 had failed to respond to Cameron's radio calls when they arrived through the Stargate, the three teams had split up to search for them. The Stargate was located at the end of a shallow, winding valley surrounded by trees, so SG-3 and –6 had taken a side each while SG-1 had taken the valley bottom.

"So, what do you reckon attacked SG-6?" Sam asked when they were a little way down the valley, "Ori foot-soldiers?"

"I do not believe so. This planet is uninhabited, the Ori would have no interest in it," replied Teal'c.

"Maybe it was animals," Cam suggested, narrowly avoiding walking straight into a bog patch, "Damn. Why did they have to put the Stargate in a river flood plain? Does not make a good first impression,"

"Actually many cultures relate nature with their gods," Daniel replied, aware it was a rhetorical question, "The four elements, for example; earth, air, fire and water," he gestured to the network of small streams, "So the people who were around when the gate was installed wanted it to be near-"

"Right" Cam interrupted, "we get the picture. Swamp means God," Sam smiled and nudged him.

"It's unlikely to have been animals. We heard weapons fire on the radio telemetry,"

"_Our_ weapons fire. From SG-6's weapons. I didn't hear any returning fire," Cam raised his eyebrows and lifted his head.

"If wild animals attacked SG-6, would they not have also attacked us?" asked Teal'c.

Cam clucked his tongue, "Man's got a point,"

"Colonel Mitchell, this is Major Freeman, SG-9," the radio crackled, "Sir, we've found the remains of a camp. Looks like it was just recently abandoned. I don't think we're alone on this planet, sir,"

"Thanks, Major. Keep on the look-out," Cam replied into the radio then turned to face the team, "So, we have an enemy. Who could it be?"

Before anyone could respond, a wooden spear landed with a wet thunk in the ground near to them.

"What the-" Cam started, turning to face the direction it came from, pulling out his field binoculars. The others all had their weapons up, scanning the valley, "Whoever threw that has a good arm," Cam muttered to himself.

Suddenly, there was a loud roar, a battle cry echoing along the valley and more spears appeared from behind a rocky outcrop a long way down.

"Take cover!" Cam yelled, but they were all already heading for the relative safety of the trees. Once there, they took up positions ready to return fire.

"Spears?!" Cam asked in disbelief, "I thought they went out of fashion a few hundred years ago,"

"Well we've met many cultures using weapons similar to those used by ancient cultures on Earth," Sam answered, "But never spears,"

There was another roar and there was movement as a group of about twenty men raced up the valley towards their hiding place.

Sam stared at them through her own binoculars, "Uh, they look a lot like-"

"Romans?" Cam finished. They looked at each other then turned to Daniel.

He shrugged back at them, "I guess we found yet another ancient culture out in this galaxy,"

Cam looked confused, "What are you saying? That the Romans were_ aliens_?"

"Well, not the actual Romans. We know the Goa'uld posed as gods for the ancient Egyptians, these possibly posed as the Emperors," Daniel shrugged.

Sam, Cameron and Teal'c turned back to face the approaching mob sloshing through the water-logged ground. As they got closer, they could clearly see the odd resemblance of their uniform to those of the Roman soldiers on Earth, tunics and the odd fluffy helmet and all.

"Options?" Cam asked his team, checking the approaching soldiers through the sight on his gun.

"They are clearly attacking us. We should fire back," Teal'c replied.

"Wait, wait," Daniel put up his hands, "They have spears and barely any armour. They don't stand a chance against our guns,"

There was a silence, the soldiers steadily approaching their position. Cameron fingered the call button on the radio.

"Major Freeman, Major Andrews, we've located the enemy, they are gaining our position. We will attempt to neutralise the situation. Fall back to the gate and wait for my call,"

"_Yes, sir," _came the reply.

Sam looked at him, "'Neutralise?' What, you're just going to walk out in front of them?"

Cam shrugged, "Yeah, why not?" With that, he stood up, adjusted his cap and walked out of the shade and down the slope.

Cameron casually stepped out onto the soft ground and rested his arms on the P-90 strapped to his chest. The soldiers had almost reached him and slowed down until they stopped a few metres away, aiming swords and spears and holding long shields in front of them. A large man stepped forward and looked down at Cameron.

"Mornin'" Cam smiled up at him and waved an arm in the direction of the wooden shafts sinking slowly into the bog, "Couldn't help noticing you throwing those spears at us there. Any reason for that?"

"Where are your friends?" the man snarled.

"Friends? Don't know what you're talking about, Brutus," Cam replied, cocking his head to one side.

The large man grabbed the front of Cam's jacket with one huge hand, lifting him off the ground, and Cam could hear the distinctive sound of guns cocking, "Do not lie to me, human. There were three others in your group. I will not ask you again. Where are they?"

"Let me go and I'll tell you," Cam replied through gritted teeth. The man snarled and dropped him. Cam stepped back and straightened his jacket.

"Well?" The soldier raised his sword threateningly.

Cameron sighed, "Only if you promise not to throw stuff at us this time,"

The soldier narrowed his eyes, and then held his hand up behind him and the other soldiers lowered their weapons. He looked expectantly down at Cameron.

Cam put his hand to his radio, "Sam, bring the boys down. Mr. Maximus here has promised not to try to kill us," He turned to look up as his team emerged from the trees, guns still aimed at the soldiers.

When they reached him, the large soldier regarded them with a smirk. They stood there in silence until Daniel cleared his throat.

"Um, Centurion?" he asked. The man leant his head back slightly and narrowed his eyes down at him.

"Yes," he replied, a slight hint of suspicion in his voice.

"Ok, good. Good start. Um, Centurion, there was a group of people like us," he gestured at the team, "Dressed like us. Have you seen them?"

The man didn't reply, but smiled widely and chuckled low and menacingly. Soon, all the soldiers behind him were laughing in the same manner, which was one of the more disturbing things Cam had ever heard.

"You will not be seeing them again. They have been taken to Remus,"

"Remus?" Cam raised his eyebrows and turned to Daniel, "Who's Remus?"

"Remus as in Romulus and Remus. The mythical twin sons of Mars, the god of war, who were raised by wolves," Cam still wore the same expression, "Uh, legend says that basically they had a fight. Romulus and founded the city of Rome, and apparently killed Remus for mocking the size of his city walls,"

Cam raised his eyebrows, "City walls. Right," he smiled a little and turned back to the Centurion, "Remus? See we know a '_Romulus_'-"

Cameron was cut off when the Centurion pressed his sword against his throat and snarled. The soldiers behind him stepped forward and raised their weapons again.

"I'm sorry, did I offend you?" Cam asked.

"You are soldiers of Romulus. You will be killed,"

"Woah, woah," Daniel waved his hands, "We don't fight for Romulus,"

The Centurion turned his glare to Daniel. He then made a hand signal behind him and four soldiers stepped in front of each member of SG-1 with short, sharp wooden objects in their hands. The Centurion clicked his fingers and before they could react, the soldiers lunged forward quickly and pierced the sharp points through the material of their jackets into the flesh of their arms.


	7. Chapter 7

**Surprise Delivery – Chapter 7**

"Well this is new," Daniel said sarcastically.

The team had woken up sitting on the floor of a small, open tent made of leather panels. They were tied up with their backs to the support pole. Their weapons, equipment and boots had been taken and were lying on the ground just outside where Cam could see them from his position facing out. Two men stood guard on either side of the doorway.

"Does anyone know how long we were out?" Cam asked, twisting round to try to see the others. Sam was sitting to his left, Teal'c was on his right, and he assumed Daniel was directly behind him.

"A few hours at most, judging by the sun's position," Sam answered, squinting up at the sky.

"And the numbness of my ass tells me we've been in here for the best part of that,"

"What does that prove?" Daniel asked.

"I believe Colonel Mitchell is suggesting that we are not far away from where we were captured," Teal'c replied.

"Right. But it's not like we can escape with guards just outside," said Daniel.

"How do you know there's guards outside?" Cam asked.

"There's always guards outside,"

"But there's no way you can see them,"

"Mitchell, I think you've forgotten how many times I've been captured. There's always guards outside,"

"I believe there have been occasions where we have not been guarded," Teal'c put in.

"Ok. _More often than not_, there's a guard outside," Daniel said through clenched teeth.

"So how do you know this is one of those times?" Cam asked.

"Cameron," Sam warned, "Stop it,"

"Because these people are _Romans_. Of course they're guarding us," Daniel continued.

"But their not actual Romans. They're…Remans,"

"_What_?"

"Remans. Romulus and Remus. Romulus, Rome, Romans. Remus, Reme…Remans," Cameron justified, "So how do you know they're like the Romans?"

"Ok," Daniel sighed heavily, "Are there guards outside or not?"

"What do you think?"

"For God's sakes, Mitchell," Daniel almost shouted, "I've told you what I think. Now tell me if there're guards!"

"Guess," Cam replied with a grin.

"Yes! There are guards outside, Daniel," Sam interrupted in exasperation; "You two are so immature," Daniel and Cameron lapsed into silence.

"He started it," Daniel mumbled.

…………

A long hour later, the Centurion they'd met in the valley appeared at the door of the tent.

"My name is Centurion Fusus," He said, standing and looking expectantly down at the team.

"Uh, Lieutenant Colonel Cameron Mitchell," Cam introduced himself, "This is my team, Lieutenant Colonel Sam Carter, Dr Daniel Jackson, and Teal'c,"

"Very interesting," Fusus smirked, "You bring a woman with you,"

"Oh jeez-" Sam groaned.

"Uh, yes. She's one of my world's finest warriors," Cam replied then leaned forward and said more quietly, "And not too bad for the morale," he winked then flinched when he felt one of Sam's fingers digging into his back.

Fusus laughed short, "I understand," he then squatted down in front of Cameron, "My men and I have been away from home for a very long time, and have been without – certain comforts," he glanced at Sam and his smirk turned more evil, "I could arrange your escape if we could borrow the woman,"

Cameron fumed and could feel Sam cringing next to him, "I don't think that's possible right now," he replied, jaw clenched, "Perhaps we could arrange a different trade-off?"

Fusus glared at Cam, "This woman is yours?"

"Kinda,"

Fusus stood up, "I suppose you could barter your freedom another way,"

"Great. We'll do it," Cam grinned.

"Mitchell!" Daniel interrupted, "You don't even know what you're agreeing to. It could be a fight to the death for all you know,"

"Stop being so damn cautious. If we get to leave it's worth it,"

"That makes absolutely no sense what so ever,"

Fusus' low chuckling cut the bickering short, "You should listen to your men, Mitchell. Dr Jackson is familiar with our culture?"

"Well, it's kinda his job,"

"He is wise. And you are lucky. The men you came to rescue should be sufficient for our scholars to study, and I have not yet told our legion of your capture, so I can do what I wish with you," Fusus crossed his arms over his chest, "And I wish for a fight,"

Cameron leaned to his right, "Hey, T, you up for fighting? You're our best bet,"

"The fight will be between you, Mitchell, and my best soldier,"

"Is it a fight to the death?" Cam asked gingerly, though he probably didn't want to know the answer.

"It is,"

"In that case, I delegate, Cam said quickly, "I have a child to look after at home,"

"A child? Why do you go to war if you must look after a child?"

"Well, you see, we weren't looking for a war. Our data showed this planet as uninhabited,"

"Is the woman the mother of the child?" Fusus nodded towards Sam.

"Again…kinda,"

"Your world is a strange one. Allowing both parents of a child to go to war. Who is this child in the care of now?"

"Uh-," Cam tried to remember where he'd left his daughter. He leaned to his left and spoke out of the side of his mouth, "Honey, who did we give Ellie to?"

"Sergeant Peters," Sam answered with a sigh.

"Your irresponsibility as parents shocks me," Fusus voice relayed his amazement and confusion, "I too have children; three sons and two daughters, but my wife stays home and raises them. That is where she belongs,"

"On our world, women are allowed to do everything the men do," Daniel's voice came from behind Cameron, "It's only a relatively recent thing, historically speaking, but-"

"Enough of the history lesson, Jackson, I don't think old Fusus here wants to know about the Suffragette movement,"

"Although your parenting methods disgust me, this honour cannot be delegated," Fusus continued, "If you succeed, you and your soldiers are free to leave. If you fail, you will die, but you have my word that your soldiers will be free to leave," Fusus nodded and stalked away.

Cam sighed, "I guess that's the best we're gonna get,"

"So it would seem," Teal'c replied.

"Well let's just hope this other guy isn't as good as he's made out to be,"

…...

_Note: well that was the next installment. I'm going on holiday now for a few weeks, and then I'm having an operation so I don't know how my writing is going ot be affected. Promise to update ASAP._


	8. Chapter 8

An hour later, Fusus returned to get Cameron

An hour later, Fusus returned to get Cameron. He was aggressively untied by two huge men and manhandled to his feet on wobbly, numb legs. One of the men slipped a bag over Cameron's head before he was pulled forward and led away. A minute or so later, the bag was ripped off and once his eyes adjusted to the light, Cam found himself standing in another tent in the camp. The grip on him was released only briefly before he was stripped of all his clothes and searched for any remaining hidden weapons. To cover his dignity, he was given a long strip of leather that was tied around his waist and between his legs.

When these preparations were over he was lead out to a patch of rough ground at the very edge of the camp where a circle was marked out by a long reed rope. Cameron had managed to keep track of his movements by counting the number of steps and direction from the prison-tent, and from where he stood now he could see it not too far away, with the two guards standing outside the entrance. He mentally worked out the distance in steps between the tent and the nearby marshy ground that he assumed ran along the valley back to the Stargate.

Satisfied with the distances, Cam turned his attention back to the situation on hand. Men in various states of uniform dress were appearing out of the tents that made up the camp and congregating around the outside of the rope circle a steady flow continuing until there were about 80 men surrounding the ring. Chancing another glance at the prison tent Cam smiled inwardly when he saw that even the guards there had left their post to watch the fight. This was definitely a good thing; otherwise their plan would have been a lot harder to pull off.

A loud cheer from behind him made Cam spin round in time to see a 7-foot hulk of a man with biceps the size of Cam's head push his way through the crowd and into the ring.

"Shi-hit!" Cam stammered.

The giant leered at him with wonky eyes and a toothless mouth, "Mors tua vita mea," he sneered and spat on the dusty ground.

From the crowd around him, Cam could hear the sound of coins changing hands and calls as bets were taken. He really didn't want to know the odds.

Fusus stepped into the circle with authority and all the talking stopped. In his hands he had two wooden poles, one of which he handed to the beast-man, the other he threw to the ground in front of Cameron. He guessed this was the weapon he was supposed to be defending his life with and picked it up. It wasn't nearly as deadly looking as the staff he had for his last fight to the death against Jolan of the Sodan, but he span it deftly around in his hands to try to find the natural balance of it. On closer inspection, the pole consisted of two weapons; one end was a thick club that ballooned out slightly at the end, while the other end resembled a wooden toy sword, but with much sharper edges. The two ends were connected by a span of wood two fists long.

"Ok," Cam thought to himself, "Plan A: I fight this guy for as long as possible, wait for the signal, get rescued and run. Plan B: die," he nodded once then muttered, "Piece of cake,"

"My men!" Fusus addressed the crowd with raised arms, "Today we honour the lineage of Remus by offering this sacrifice of life in the sacred fight of 'Cum gladius fustibus et mors'," Fusus paused, apparently for dramatic effect, then continued, "This fight between our brother Malleolus, and this man Lieutenant Colonel Cameron Mitchell will determine the freedom of Mitchell's soldiers, while providing the flesh for our offering," he closed his eyes tight, "Do ut des!" he shouted as he threw his arms up to the sky once again.

"Ok," Cam said to himself, "Really gotta get Jackson to do a little translating for me later,"

There was a loud deep cheer from the crowd and Fusus disappeared back amongst his men before silence fell on the gathering. Cam moved the pole between his hands nervously, trying to figure out how he could possibly win this, or even survive long enough, and tried to anticipate Malleolus's first move.

Malleolus gave out a loud grunt as he charged straight at Cameron, who dodged easily out of the way. It seemed the man was as thick and slow as he looked. Cam began to have a little hope in actually pulling this off.

The two men circled each other slowly, crouched low. Malleolus lunged again, this time with the sword-end but Cam parried it away with ease, ducking as Malleolus quickly swiped around with the club-end. For such strength, the giant's size made him predictable.

This went on for a while, Malleolus attacking and Cameron defending, buying time. Cam glanced quickly at the prison-tent, not long enough to draw attention to it. The tent was empty and Cam smiled inwardly at the sight of the sock resting on the sloped roof. Everything seemed to be going to plan so far. He didn't look for the others, he didn't need to, and it would only raise suspicion.

Malleolus had taken this split-second distraction to his advantage and managed to strike Cam hard on the side of the head before he could raise his weapon to block. Stumbling and seeing stars before his eyes, Cam silently cursed himself for underestimating his opponent. He shook his head and regained his composure, all his attention now focused on Malleolus.

The next time Malleolus lunged forward, Cam rolled nimbly between his legs, the attack he'd been planning since the beginning. He jumped up behind Malleolus and struck him hard on the back of the skull. It didn't knock him out as it should have, but he lost his balance and fell awkwardly to the ground. Cam prised the weapon from his confused, limp fingers and held his own across Malleolus's throat. An audible gasp could be heard from the gathering followed by mutterings. This stopped when Fusus re-entered the ring.

"Impressive," he said with raised eyebrows, "What you lack in build, you make up for with agility and tactical thinking, as any great military leader should have," he smiled, showing he believed he was one of those great leaders, "Your first attack was the winning one," he bowed his head slightly at Cam.

"Oh, it's not over yet," Cameron laughed, a little out of breath, regretting it immediately as his vision swam and the woozy feeling made him queasy. Fusus looked at him questioningly and Cam stepped back, throwing his weapon away.

"You failed to take one of my weapons," he explained with a smile. Fusus glared at him, "My invisible projectile launcher," Cameron said with a shrug. He reached into his loincloth and pulled his hand out in the classic pretend-gun shape; thumb pointing up with index and middle fingers together pointing forward. He held his arm up high, "Guaranteed to slip through even the most _thorough_ search," he lowered his hand and aimed his fingers at Malleolus's head. Gasps and mutters could once again be heard and Fusus actually looked a little scared.

"Show us this – invisible projectile launcher you speak of," he said cautiously. Cam shrugged again and used his left hand to 'cock' his thumb back. A moment passed then the sound of a single gunshot echoed around the low hills and Cameron recoiled his arm, "That's what I'm talking about," Cam mumbled, "Thank you, Sam,"

Malleolus slumped sideways with a neat bullet hole in the centre of his forehead, the blood pumping out and then slowing to a trickle. Cam's stomach turned a little at the sight but he tried not to show it in his face as he turned to face Fusus.

"That – is impossible," he stammered, wide-eyed.

"Apparently not," Cam said, "Now let me and my soldiers go,"

Fusus' face suddenly hardened again and he narrowed his eyes, "Give us that weapon and I'll let you go," a low muttering of approval rippled through the crowd.

Cameron chuckled, "Sorry, ladies," he held his hands up, "It's a one-shot kind of weapon. Disposable, if you like," he held up his hand and flicked it sideways, letting his fingers fall back from the gun shape. Fusus' eyes widened with rage and he started barking out orders in what Cam guessed sounded a little like Latin. The men stirred and scrambled away, grabbing spears and shields from nearby tents.

During the confusion, Cam saw Teal'c, Daniel and Sam sprinting away down the valley. Fusus was temporarily distracted and Cam took the opportunity to run, hiding momentarily behind a tent before high-tailing it after the others.

"I'm right behind you!" he yelled ahead. They turned round briefly to acknowledge him, slowing their run slightly to let him catch up, then continued up the ever increasingly boggy valley.

Their previous assumption that they had not been far from the Stargate turned out to be correct as they turned the last corner and saw the ring of the Stargate at the end of the valley. They could just make out SG-3 and –9 still waiting there for them and Sam reached for the radio she'd managed to recover.

"Major Andrews, Major Freeman! This is Colonel Carter!" She shouted as she ran, "Dial Earth now and get through. Hold it but be ready to shut it down as soon as we're through!" There was movement and then blue-white light filled the hollow ring, rippling as the other teams stepped through.

They were still running flat out and were about 300 metres from the gate when they heard the battle cries behind them, approaching fast. The team exchanged looks and increased their pace as much as they could. Arrows and spears began hitting the ground around them, getting closer and closer to their mark.

200 metres away.

"Ahh!!" a dull thud sounded close and Sam stumbled and fell, sliding forwards through the mud.

"Sam!" Cameron stopped running and turned back for her, and Teal'c and Daniel stopped a little further on. There was an arrow pierced deep into Sam's calf muscle.

"Cam," Sam said weakly, holding a hand up to Cameron.

"Shit," he muttered, "Teal'c! Would you give me a hand here? Jackson, go through and get a med team ready for us!"

Daniel started running fast again towards the gate and Teal'c rejoined Cam. Together they managed to pick Sam up under her armpits and moved as fast as they could away from the approaching hoard and towards the safety of the gate.

"Come on, Sam. Just think, we're almost home. Almost back on Earth. We'll be able to see Ellie-"

100 metres.

The extra weight and the resistance of the ground, combined with the painful throbbing at his temple was making Cam's vision blurred, and he could feel his strength ebbing away. After stumbling a few times, almost dropping Sam, Teal'c took all her weight onto his broad shoulders. With the heavenly pale glow of safety in his sights, Cam blocked all other inputs into his mind and ran for his life.


End file.
